Chapter 21 Monroe
MONROE
Istill wasn’t quite sure how this had happened.
One minute I’d been sitting in the caravan, marking my kids’ jotters, watching the sky darken before four thirty. And in what seemed like the next minute, I was standing in Mackennon Galbraith’s cottage.
The knock landed on the door after the grind of kicked-up gravel drew me to the caravan window.
To my surprise, two SUVs had parked beside my car, and then two very tall men jumped out of them.
The security light outside the caravan door revealed them, and I drew in a breath at the sight of Brodan and Mac.
What the hell were they doing here?
The last few days had taken their toll. I was emotionally and physically drained by what had been revealed, still reeling from Brodan’s pronouncement that he wanted me.
As much as I hated to admit it, a small part of me still belonged to the girl from the past, and she experienced a flare of relief and exultation.
However, grown-up me didn’t believe him.
He was guided (or misguided) by guilt, and soon enough he’d realize what a mistake the two of us were together.
We were from different worlds now. I was a primary school teacher, and he was a famous Hollywood actor.
We made little sense. But the most important roadblock between us was my lack of trust in him.
I’d promised myself after the relationship with Steven turned violent that I’d never again allow a man to treat me like his punching bag, emotionally or physically.
Brodan’s vow to never mistreat me felt like an empty pledge in the face of his past actions.
Which was why I was genuinely surprised to see him the evening after our moment in my car, now standing on the caravan steps with Mac.
I opened the door, licking my lips in nervousness, and Brodan stared at me wide-eyed for a second. Mac nudged him and cleared his throat. Brodan blinked rapidly and then walked right in.
Huffing in exasperation, I stepped back to allow Mac in too. They dwarfed the caravan as they looked around the small space. “Uh … can I help you?”
Brodan turned to me, his expression granite with determination. “It’s Baltic in here, and you’re not staying in this death trap any longer.”
“Excuse me—”
“He’s right,” Mac cut me off. “Gordon’s caravan is old. It’s not built with the proper insulation like the newer models in his park. You can’t stay here in the winter, Monroe.”
I raised an eyebrow at their bossiness. “You must be Mac.”
He held out his hand. “Apologies. Mac Galbraith. Nice to officially meet you.”
Shaking his big hand, staring up close into his ruggedly handsome face, I could certainly see the attraction.
Brodan and Lachlan were the tallest of the Adairs, but Mac had height even on them.
I was tiny next to him, and he was overwhelmingly masculine.
“You too. Though I’m still confused by what you both expect to achieve here. ”
Brodan grinned at my schoolteacher voice, and I grew still at the affection in his smile. I hadn’t seen that look in eighteen years. “We’re moving you out. Right now.”
Flabbergasted, I threw my hands up. “To where?”
“My cottage on Castle Street,” Mac supplied, his gaze darting around the caravan again. “I have a tenancy agreement in the car you can read over. For now, let’s get you packed up. Any of the kitchen appliances belong to you?”
I shook my head, too flustered to speak.
“Okay. I don’t think we’ll need too many boxes, but I’ll grab some from the car.” Mac disappeared out of the caravan.
I whirled on Brodan already walking toward the bedroom. “What are you doing?”
“Do you have a suitcase in here?”
“Under the bed,” I answered without thinking. “Brodan! You can’t just barge in here and take over.”
“I can when your stubborn pride is keeping you in this shithole,” he threw back. “I should have gotten you out of here weeks ago.”
“It’s not your place—” I cut off abruptly at the sight of him on his knees by the bed. “What are you doing?”
He reached under it, and my suitcase appeared, along with a shoebox. My cheeks flushed, my heart racing.
“What’s in—”
“Don’t!”
But it was too late.
He’d taken the lid off the shoebox.
Nosy bugger.
Feeling hot all over, I watched Brodan glance up from the contents with laughter on his lips and the mischief I remembered so well in his eyes. He lifted my pink vibrator out of the box. “Are you sure it’s big enough?” he teased.
I lunged over the bed and snatched it out of his hand. “Put that back!”
“It’s an honest question. I mean, I’m feeling a wee bit inadequate after seeing that.”
“Shut up.” I shoved it in the box, slamming the lid back on. “You can’t just come in here and start nosing around in my things.”
“Why? Do you have more sex toys lying around I should know about?” He peeked under the bed. “I’m surprised they’d fit with that thing taking up so much room.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
He stood up, chuckling. “Don’t be embarrassed, Roe. Masturbation is perfectly natural, even if your choice of toys is not.”
“You’re a bastard.”
Brodan’s laughter filled the caravan as I grabbed the suitcase out of his hand and threw open the small wardrobe. I pulled clothes off their hangers and tensed as Brodan hovered near my back.
“Is that all you’ve got with you? Where’re the rest of your clothes?”
“These are all of my clothes,” I gritted out between clenched teeth.
He grunted, sounding agitated.
Embarrassed, I turned to glower at him. “Not all of us are made of money and can afford a house-sized wardrobe filled with clothes.”
Those pale eyes locked onto mine. “I’m not judging you, Sunset.”
The nickname tore through me. “Brodan—”
“I should have been taking care of you,” he said with gruff self-reproach.
I stiffened. “I take care of myself. And anyway”—I turned to the closet—“I’m not yours to take care of.”
There was a moment of silence and then I felt his heat score along my back. His breath tickled my ear as he leaned in, scattering goose bumps down my spine. “You’ve always been mine to take care of. And today is the day I stop failing at it.”
“Got the boxes!” Mac called from the other end of the caravan, and I let out a breath as Brodan moved away.
It took less than half an hour to pack up my life, and I think I found that more depressing than anything.
Ultimately, I let Brodan and Mac move me out of the caravan, because I knew they were both right.
Living there in the cold autumn had been miserable, and I could only imagine winter would be horrendous.
Trying to exorcise Brodan’s words to me in the bedroom, I followed them in a bit of a daze, driving my car out of the park and down the country road toward the center of the village.
I parked in the allocated parking spot behind the row houses, and because there was no back door, I walked around the building to Castle Street where Brodan and Mac had parked out front of the cottage.
Touring the row house, I decided I didn’t care if the whole situation was a sting to my pride.
The cottage was lovely. It was comfortable and inviting.
The front door led into the sitting room, with the staircase against the wall directly opposite the entrance.
A wood burner (heaven!) sat in the corner of the living room, and of the two dark, worn leather sofas, one pointed toward the fire, the other toward the huge TV mounted on the wall.
An actual television. It felt like forever since I’d had one of those.
There were tartan cushions and throw blankets, footstools, and a battered wooden coffee table.
A doorway at the back of the room led into a small kitchen. It had been renovated and was very modern with sleek white cabinets, white tile flooring, and a gray quartz countertop. Lovely. A door off the kitchen led to a small downstairs bathroom.
Upstairs was a tidy guest bedroom and a primary bedroom.
The main bedroom wasn’t massive but cozy.
An original fireplace must’ve been used by the prior tenants because there was ash in the grate and a basket of fresh firewood next to it.
A fire in the bedroom too? This really was heaven.
The bed took up most of the space, and the frame was made of solid dark oak.
A pile of decorative cushions over plump, luxurious pillows made me want to dive right into it.
Yup, definitely worth my pride, I decided as I signed the tenancy agreement.
I knew for a fact Mac and Arro were charging me way less rent than what the place was worth.
That stung, too, but I was also incredibly grateful and told Mac so.
He shrugged uncomfortably. “By Arro, Arran, and Brodan’s account, you’re family. We take care of our family.”
Emotion clogged my throat, and I met Brodan’s searching gaze.
“I told you,” he said quietly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.”
Trepidation filled me. “The cottage is lovely, Brodan, but you must know that it’s not enough. I can’t be bought.”
“I know that.” His gaze moved to Mac.
Mac gave him an abrupt nod before informing me, “There’s some food in the fridge, some milk. Here are your keys and my number.” He held out said keys and a card. “You give me a shout if you need anything.”
I took them. “Thank you again. Tell Arro I’ll call her.”
“I will do.” He nodded at me, turned, and patted Brodan on the shoulder before walking out of the cottage.
As soon as the cottage door closed gently behind him, Brodan stepped toward me.
I tensed warily.
A flash of pain crossed his expression, but he halted. “If you’re not too tired, I wondered if we could talk? There are some things that happened all those years ago that I want you to know.”